We Raise Our Children Well
by Rai Science
Summary: A child and his best friend, a family that grows together and apart. We raise our children well and hide our tears when they no longer need us. The cycle begins again and again - we raise our children well and they never forget us.


"Jamie, come here!" Four year old Jamie looked up from his trucks, a pout already rising to his lips. It was _Christmas_ and the boy wanted to play, not take more pictures!

"But mama, I wanna play wit' my trucks!" He stuck out his lip, giving her the biggest pout possible. "No more pictas!"

"I already made her promise, no more pictures, Jamie," Mom chuckled, a bright smile curving her lips. "We got you another present."

"So come and open it," Mama encouraged, waving the little boy over.

It took Jamie maybe thirty seconds to decide between staying and playing with his trucks and opening another present. The trucks were _really _nice but - new present! Toddling over to the couch, he scrambled on top, and gripped his mama's shirt in both hands. "Present!"

Giggling, Mom turned to the tree, picking up a very small box and presenting it to him. It was two inches and tall and twice that in length, wrapped in bright green paper and a brilliantly red bow. Jamie frowned. It wasn't big enough for a truck. "What is?"

"Well, open it and find out, silly!" Mom pushed the box closer, and Jamie took it with greedy hands, even as he pouted. It was a present but - not a truck? He tore the paper open with a child's interest, flicking shreds of paper everywhere and tossing the bow high into the air. Beneath the paper was a little box, and when he pulled, it opened. There was a small ball inside, one half red, the other white, with a little white button in the middle, surrounded by a black line. He picked it up, eyes wide.

"Open, open, open! Wanna open it!" He cheered excitedly, waving the ball with one chubby fist.

"I told you he'd like it," Mama said to Mom in a loud whisper, a smile on her face. "Push the button Jamie, and throw it in the air," she instructed him.

Jamie giggled excitedly, mashing the button with a clumsy baby fingers before throwing it up as hard as he could. The ball expanded, cracking open - much to Jamie's horror - and then light poured out.

He stared, mouth dropping open in shock as the light hit the floor and a thing - a /pokemon/ came out. It was small, with brown fur and fluffy cream-colored puffs at the ends of long ears, and covering its lower body. There was a pretty red bow tied around one ear. It blinked, looking up with wide red-eyes and Jamie clapped excitedly. "Pok'mon, pok'mon!"

With a cheerful cry, the pokemon bounced towards them. "Bun! Bun, ry!"

On the couch, Jamie squirmed in his mom's lap, trying to climb down the couch. Mama put him down with a little laugh, and the two parents watched pokemon and child get acquainted.

"What's your name, pok'mon?" Jamie asked, looking down at the brown rabbit with eager brown eyes.

"Bun, buneary!" The pokemon chirped excitedly, ears twitching.

"Her name is Mika, Jamie," Mama answered, "And she's going to be your friend. She's a buneary and she's very cute, isn't she?"

"Cute! Mika is fluffy!" The boy agreed, reaching out a hand to touch the cotton puffs on her ears. "My Mika."

Mika squeaked, leaning closer and butting his hand with a fluffy ear. "Bun, bun!"

"Mama, going to explore!" Jamie called behind, grabbing a sweater and a sled. "Mika's coming too!"

"Bun, eary, ry!" Came the agreeing chirp, the buneary bouncing after the seven year old. The two were out before Mom or Mama could respond, rushing down the street to play in the park. There were lots of hills there, and the snow was nice and dry! Perfect for sledding and snowball fights.

Jamie rushed to the top of the closest hill, putting the sled at the edge. He sat down on it, looking about for Mika as he realized the pokemon wasn't behind him. "Mika? Where are you?"

He looked around, but there was no sign of the little brown-furred pokemon. He frowned. Where on earth-. A snow ball hit him in the face. "Ah!" He tumbled back, against the sled and felt it start to roll. "Oh noooo!" Half-screaming, half-laughing, Jamie and the sled rushed down the hill, the boy barely feeling the small weight that landed on his back. They practically flew down, snow flying all around them, before the sled went over a snowbank and they fell over.

"Buneary, ry, ry!" Mika trilled, voice high with laughter. Jamie pulled himself out of the snow with a grin, and prepared a surprise.

"Mika!" She turned. He threw. The snowball sent her rolling back, right back into the snowbank.

"Bun!"

"Got ya! You can't get me, I'm the boss!" Jamie stuck his tongue out, even as he grasped for more snow.

"Bun, bun!"

"Nuh uh, I am the boss! I'm Captain Jamie, greatest Pirate/Pokemon Trainer/Astronaut ever!" He threw the second snowball and the war was on.

"Hey Mika, you're not mad I don't wanna be a trainer, are you?" Jamie asked quietly. The bedroom was dark, night had fallen, and the ten year old was supposed to be asleep.

Instead, he sat up in bed, looking down at the fluffy, pillow-stuffed mini-bed that housed his best friend. For a long moment there was only quiet. Then, a small head topped with long ears popped out from beneath the pillows and scarves. "Bun, bun, ea."

"Really? I mean - I wouldn't be mad, really. I broke our promise," He said, looking down at the blankets bunched at his waist. "We were supposed to go on adventures together."

Mika scoffed, waving a paw in the air and pointing at Jamie with one ear. "Bun," she chirped sarcastically, "Ry, ry, eary."

He flushed, "You know what I mean! You're a great pokemon and you could probably be a great battler; I'm holding you back."

"Bun bun bun! Buneary, ry, bun!" A pillow smacked into his face, cutting off anything else. "Buneary, near, ry."

"Of course they said that! They're my parents, that's what they /do/," he pointed out, clutching the pillow with a tight hand. "But I know they're disappointed! They've got to be. I'm their only kid and I don't, I don't want to be a trainer. I don't even want to work with pokemon,"

A long silence passed, broken only by the shuffle of blankets and fabric. After a while, Mika bounced into his view, the buneary looking at him with warm red eyes.

"Bun. Buneary," she said comfortingly, hugging his forearm. Her ears wrapped about his wirst, and her fur was warm and comforting in the dark.

Jamie hugged her close, burying his face in the fluff of her ears."Okay. I believe you."

"I'm going to soccer pracitce, Mom, Mama! I'll be back later!" The door slammed behind the thirteen year old, and Mom looked up, tsking. "That boy, always in a rush."

Mama laughed, patting Mom on the hand. "Of course he is - he is our son."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Mom went back to her knitting, "Sometimes I don't know how Mika keeps up with him."

Mama was about to respond, a smile at her lips when she noticed the little brown form hopping into the room. "Mika? What are you doing here?"

"Buneary. Bun, bun," she answered softly, hopping onto the couch to sit between the two. "Ry, eary."

"Well, he'll be back soon. Once he realizes he left you behind," Mom said comfortingly, stroking the little normal-type's ears.

"Near, neary, bun," Mika shook her head, a faint smile curling her muzzle up. It was a very soft smile, and sad. "Bu, ry."

Mom sighed, putting down her knitting needles. "You're right dear, but," she tipped the little head up. "You've done a very fine job with him. We all have."

Mama nodded sagely, "Quite right. Our little Jamie is growing up, but he won't forget us. And he'd never forget you, Mika."

"Mika? Can we talk?" Jamie tapped on the door, smiling awkwardly. The two had moved rooms a few years ago, when it became very obvious that a growing teen needed his own room, even if his roommate was only a foot tall. Mika had moved into half of the guest room, a carefully built doll-house, extra large to accommadate her, giving her a room fit to her size.

It was still kind of weird, having to knock to talk to his best friend, when they lived in the same house. The doll-house's door opened, cutting off the sixteen years old's thoughts. Mika looked up, red eyes as inquisitive as that first day, twelve years ago. It seemed like time had flown by. "Bun?"

"I got my acceptance letter today," he said, a smile coming to his face. "The Hoenn Space Insititute! I've always wanted to study there, and now - now I have a chance. And I - I wanted to tell you first."

"Ry! Neary!" Mika's eyes were wide with excitement, and if she was a little slower than she once was, the cream of her puffs a little paler, her brown muzzle spotted with gray, you couldn't tell by her excitement. "Bun, ry."

"Thanks, but, that's not the only reason I wanted to tell you first." He looked down at the ground. "I - I can't bring you with me. There's no pokemon allowed, especially ones with fur, and..."

"Eary," The sound was a soft sigh, a bare breath of air. "Bun. Buneary, eary, bun."

"I, you know you're my best friend Mika. But this is such a great opportunity and I can't just - what?" Jamie stared at the pokemon, his pokemon, for a long moment, mouth dropping open. "What did you say?"

Mika smiled, soft and sad, and warm. "Buneary, eary, bun," she repeated, patting his hip with a soft paw. "Neary."

"I - thank you, Mika," he smiled. "Thank you for understanding." Jamie turned to the door, "I'm gonna go tell Mom and Ma," he told her.

Mika waved, leaning against the door to her little house. If her smile dropped to something sadder, and her ears trembled, just a bit, if her eyes were filling up, well, there was no one to see.

"Kori! Kori, this way hon!"

"But daddy! Wanna play with presents!" Kori, age four, pouted up at her daddy. James chuckled, running a hand through kinky black hair. "Presents daddy!"

"I know sweetheart, but I want to show you something - someone." James smiled at his daughter, the thirty-three year old bending down and picking his daughter up, placing her on his shoulders before she could protest. "It won't take long, I promise."

Kori giggled, fingers clutching her father's shaved head. "Okies Daddy. But hurry!" She urged him.

"Well then - I guess we better fly!" James spread one arm out as if it were a wing, the other holding tight to Kori's hip. The little girl laughed as they ran through the backyard, dashing past granny's rosebushes and grandma's prized apple trees. They slowed to a walk as they approached the peach trees, and James let her down. "Alright sweetie, I want you to meet someone very special. She was really important to Daddy."

"Who? Who was im'ortant?" Kori asked curiously as they reached the small peach grove. The trees were very tall, well aged and bare, with the winter season. There was a small stone shelf at the base of the center tree. "What's that?"

"Come closer, and I'll show you," James instructed. Kori ran forward, and James knelt beside her. The stone thing /was/ a shelf, and he swung open the door very carefully. Inside, was a little pot with sticks, a plaque, and a statue of a buneary.

"Pretty!"

"That's right, she's very pretty." James pulled the statue out very carefully, before reaching out and lighting the incense. "This is Mika, Kori." He turned the statue over so she could see it clearly. The statue was fired clay, and the glazed colors were as beautiful now as the day it had been crafted. The buneary was a warm shade of brown, her puffs cream colored and somehow they managed to look soft and comforting. Her eyes were a rich red, and her muzzle was curved into a smile.

"Mika was my best friend, for a really long time. She was the best friend I could have ever asked for, and I got her a day very much like this one, a long time ago. Thirty years, today, actually."

"Wow! That's a - that's a long time, daddy." Kori stared at the statue, reaching out to touch one cream-puff.

"A very long time. I like to visit her, now and again. Let her know what's happening. And - today, I wanted to give you a gift my parents gave to me."

"A present? Present!" Kori bounced up and down, eyes wide with eagerness. James laughed, and reached into his coat pocket. He held out a box. It was two inches and tall and twice that in length, wrapped in bright green paper and a brilliantly red bow. Kori took it with eager hands, small fingers quickly tearing the paper open. There was another box inside, and chubby hands opened it, revealing a small ball.

It was red and white, with a black line dividing the two colors, and a white button. Kori looked ip at her father with wide eyes and James smiled. "Why don't you go open? Hit the white button, and throw it." The little girl nodded, running away from the trees with loud shrieks of excitement.

James turned back to the shelf, smiling at the statue he still held. He reached out, tweaking the carved cotton puff. "It begins again. I hope I can do as well with her as you, Mom, and Ma, did for me, Mika."

He placed the statue on top of the shelf, the pot of incense coming out to sit beside her. It was burning now, with the rich scent of cinnamon. As he closed the stone cabinet, he saw a flake of snow drift by. One landed on the tip of a black-painted nose, and he smiled. It was sad, and warm, and yet so very happy. "Love you too, Mika."

[You know you did great when they don't need you anymore...

But just because you don't need them, doesn't mean you forget.]


End file.
